The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) on Wednesday launched "National Scale Up of 7.1per cent Chlorhexidine application for newborn cord care" in the capital's Lake Shore Hotel.
In 2013, Bangladesh declared its commitment for 'Ending Preventable Child Deaths by 2035' and incorporated four priority interventions to prevent neonatal death.
Application of 7.1 per cent  Chlorhexidine for newborn umbilical cord care is one of the priority interventions for newborn survival. Trials have been conducted in Bangladesh and other countries showing that an estimated 23 per cent neonatal deaths can be averted with cord care using chlorhexidine. 
The country needs three lakh 7.1per cent  Chlorhexidine drops per tears and ACI Limited, a local pharmaceutical company, came up with production of required solution.
MOHFW has now decided to scale up this intervention across the country. The national scale up is guided by the National Technical Working Committee for Newborn Health and is supported by several development partners.
USAID, through its flagship MaMoni Health Systems Strengthening project, is providing financial and technical assistance for this initiative. The Saving Newborn Lives-SNL project of Save the Children is also providing technical assistance to the MOHFW to facilitate the national scale up of this intervention.
The launch of national scale up of 7.1per cent  Chlorhexidine will be an opportunity to bring together a large group of partners and stakeholders, including district level MOHFW Managers, in Dhaka, Secretary of MOHFW , Syed Monjurul Islam said.
The event was combined with the sensitization for the district level managers from twenty districts, where the first phase of roll out will begin in July. The total number of participants expected is approximately 180.
Special Guests at the launching included Prof. Dr. Deen Mohd. Noorul Huq, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services, Md. Nur Hossain Talukder, Director General of the Directorate General of Family Planning, Ms. Melissa Jones, Director of Office of Population, Health, Nutrition and Education, USAID, Dr. Ishtiaq Mannan, Director - Health, Nutrition and HIV/AIDS, Save the Children in Bangladesh and Prof. Dr. Mohammod Shahidullah, Chairperson, National Technical Working Committee for Newborn Health
The scale up of this life-saving intervention for newborns demonstrates the high level of commitment from Government of Bangladesh towards reducing newborn mortality and ending preventable child and maternal deaths in the country, said Dr. Quamrul Islam, Director, Primary Health Care and Line Director,  Maternal Newborn Child and Adolescent Health of MOHFW.
The support from USAID is a reaffirmation of its commitment to strengthen the efforts of  Bangladesh  government to save the newborns and prevent child and maternal deaths, he said.